ON THURSDAY, THE EIGHTH SEASON PREMIERE OF 'THE OFFICE' HANGS TOUGH AGAINST SEASON AND SERIES PREMIERES, WINNING ITS SLOT IN ADULTS 18-34 AND MALE DEMOS

THE SERIES DEBUT OF 'WHITNEY' ON THURSDAY RETAINS 85 PERCENT OF ITS 18-49 LEAD-IN AND 90 PERCENT OF ITS TOTAL-VIEWER LEAD-IN FROM 'THE OFFICE'

THE REGULAR WEDNESDAY TIME-PERIOD PREMIERE OF 'UP ALL NIGHT' INCREASES BY 85 PERCENT IN 18-49 RATING VERSUS NBC'S AVERAGE IN THE SLOT LAST SEASON

FRIDAY'S 'DATELINE' RANKS #1 IN ITS SLOT IN ADULTS 18-49 AND OTHER KEY DEMOS, UP 25 PERCENT IN 18-49 RATING VERSUS ITS YEAR-AGO FRIDAY PREMIERE

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - September 27, 2011 - Paced by "NBC Sunday Night Football," which was the top-rated premiere-week telecast in the history of the "Sunday Night Football" franchise, NBC averaged a 2.6 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.5 million viewers overall, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

This week's "NBC Sunday Night Football" telecast, which featured the defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Indianapolis Colts (playing without their star quarterback Peyton Manning), was the highest rated premiere-week "Sunday Night Football" telecast in the history of the franchise. "Sunday Night Football" ranked #2 among all primetime programs this week in adults 18-49, adults 18-34, adults 25-54 and total viewers and was the #1 primetime telecast of the week in all key adult-male demographics - men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54 (tied).

* On Sunday, NBC Sports' "Sunday Night Football" telecast of the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Indianapolis Colts propelled NBC to a Sunday primetime win in virtually all key measures, including adults 18-49, adults 18-34, adults 25-54 and total viewers and all key adult-male demographics. NBC topped its closest network competitor Sunday night by 36 percent in adults 18-49 and 52 percent in total viewers.

* Sunday's Steelers-Colts game was the top-scoring premiere-week "NBC Sunday Night Football" telecast ever in adults 18-49 and total viewers and the most-watched primetime NFL game to compete head-to-head with premiere-week programming in 12 years. It was up 14 percent in 18-49 rating and 12 percent in total viewers versus the "Sunday Night Football" game that aired during premiere week last year.

* On Friday, "Dateline NBC" ranked #1 in the time period among ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW in adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and other key measures. "Dateline" was up 25 percent in 18-49 rating versus its year-ago Friday season premiere, delivering the highest 18-49 rating for a Friday "Dateline" since December 11, 2009.

* From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Dateline" reported growth of 50 percent in adults 18-49 and 39 percent or 2.4 million persons in total viewers. For its second hour from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Dateline" ranked #1 among ABC, CBS and NBC in virtually all key demographics, including adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and adults 25-54.

* On Thursday, the eighth season premiere of "The Office" finished within 0.3 of a rating point of the time-period lead in adults 18-49 and ranked #1 in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49, topping Fox's Thursday premiere of "X Factor," ABC's season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" and CBS's series premiere of "Person of Interest."

* Also on Thursday, the series debut of "Whitney" retained 85 percent of its 18-49 lead-in and 90 percent of its total-viewer lead-in from "The Office." "Whitney" delivered NBC's highest non-sports 18-49 and total-viewer results in the time period in a year, excluding hour-long episodes of "The Office."

* Additionally on Thursday, the fourth season premiere of "Parks and Recreation" scored NBC's top non-sports results in its half-hour in both adults 18-49 and total viewers since January 20, despite slot competition that included the Thursday premiere of Fox's "X Factor," a special second half-hour of CBS's "Big Bang Theory" season premiere and the season premiere of ABC's "Charlie's Angels."

* Thursday's 10 p.m. ET premiere of the new drama "Prime Suspect" was up 20 percent in 18-49 rating versus NBC's average in this time period last season.

* On Wednesday, the regular time period premiere of "Up All Night" scored NBC's highest regular-season results in its half-hour since December 15, 2010, despite intense time-slot competition that included the premiere of Fox's "The X Factor," CBS's "Survivor" and ABC's season premiere of "The Middle."

* "Up All Night" was up 85 percent in 18-49 rating and 26 percent in total viewers versus NBC's non-sports average in this time period last season.

* Also on Wednesday, the second season premiere of "Harry's Law" attracted NBC's biggest overall viewership in the time period on an in-season Wednesday since February 2. "Harry's Law" was up 31 percent versus NBC's total-viewer average in the time period last season.

* On Tuesday, despite intensified premiere-week competition, week two of "Parenthood" retained 95 percent of the prior week's season-premiere rating. "Parenthood" ranked #1 among the broadcast networks in adults 18-34 and finished within 2 shares of #1 in adults 18-49.

* On Monday, despite extraordinary premiere-week competition, "The Sing Off" scored NBC's highest non-sports 18-49 rating in the time period in eight months.

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Additional NBC highlights for the week of September 19-25:

On Monday, September 19 from 8-10 p.m. ET, the premiere of "The Sing Off" delivered a 1.9 rating, 5 share in 18-49 and 5.3 million viewers overall in an extremely competitive time period that included CBS's first episode of "Two and a Half Men" starring Ashton Kutcher, ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" season premiere and Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" season finale. Despite this exceptional competition, "The Sing Off" improved by 12 percent in adults 18-49 versus NBC's average in this time period last season (1.7, "live plus same day").

"The Sing Off" scored NBC's highest 18-49 rating in this time period, excluding sports, in eight months (since January 17). In total viewers, "The Sing Off" delivered NBC's biggest in season audience in the Monday 8-10 p.m. time period since January 31.

Monday from 10-11 p.m. ET, the debut of "The Playboy Club" averaged a 1.6/4 in adults 18-49 and 5.0 million viewers overall. Versus NBC's 18-49 average in this time period last season, "The Playboy Club" was up 7 percent (1.6 vs. 1.5, "live plus same day").

On Tuesday, September 20 from 8-10 p.m. ET, the season premiere of "The Biggest Loser" averaged a 2.3/6 in adults 18-49 and 6.2 million viewers overall in a highly competitive time period that included Fox's season premieres of "Glee" and "Raising Hope and series premiere of "The New Girl," CBS's season premieres of "NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" and ABC's season debut of the "Dancing With the Stars" Results Show. From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Biggest Loser" gained 9 percent in adults 18-49 (to a 2.4 from a 2.2) and 19 percent in women 18-49 (to a 3.1 from a 2.6).

Tuesday from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Parenthood" delivered a 2.1/6 in 18-49 and 5.3 million viewers overall versus the series debut of CBS's "Unforgettable" and the season premiere of ABC's "Body of Proof." Despite the new competition this week, "Parenthood" retained 95 percent of the prior week's season-premiere rating (a 2.2). In the time period, "Parenthood" ranked #1 among the broadcast networks in adults 18-34 and finished within 2 shares and 0.8 of a rating point of #1 in adults 18-49.

On Wednesday, September 21 at 8 p.m. ET, the regular time period premiere of "Up All Night" (2.4/7 in 18-49, 6.0 million viewers overall) scored NBC's highest regular-season results in this slot in both adults 18-49 and total viewers since December 15,2010, despite intense time-slot competition that included the premiere of Fox's "The X Factor," CBS's "Survivor" and ABC's season premiere of "The Middle." In this highly competitive time period, "Up All Night" ranked #2 among ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW in adults 18-34 (tied) and women 18-34.

"Up All Night" was up 85 percent in 18-49 rating versus NBC's average in this half-hour last season (2.4 vs. 1.3, "live plus same day," non-sports). In total viewers, "Up All Night" topped NBC's slot average from last season by 26 percent (6.048 million vs. 4.804 million).

At 8:30 p.m. ET, "Free Agents" averaged a 1.3/4 in 18-49 and 3.9 million viewers versus slot competition that included the second half-hour of Fox's "X Factor" premiere, a special second half-hour of ABC's "The Middle" and the second half-hour of CBS's "Survivor."

From 9-10 p.m. ET, the second season premiere of "Harry's Law" averaged a 1.2/3 in adults 18-49 and 7.5 million viewers overall. In total viewers, "Harry's Law" delivered NBC's biggest overall viewership in this time period on an in-season Wednesday since February 2. Versus NBC's total-viewer average in this time period last season, "Harry's Law" was up 31 percent (7.532 million vs. 5.752 million, "live plus same day," non-sports).

Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET, the 13th season premiere of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" averaged a 2.4/6 in adults 18-49 and 7.6 million viewers overall. "SVU" built on its lead-in by 100 percent in 18-49 rating, while competing 10 p.m. dramas on ABC and CBS were down significantly versus their lead-ins.

On Thursday, September 22 at 8 p.m. ET, the third season premiere of "Community" (1.7/5 in 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall) was up 13 percent in 18-49 rating versus its season finale (a 1.5 on May 12), despite time-period competition that included the Thursday premiere of Fox's "The X Factor," the season premiere of CBS's "Big Bang Theory" and the series premiere of ABC's "Charlie's Angels." "Community" delivered NBC's best results in this time period in 18-49 and total viewers, excluding sports, since March 24.

At 8:30 p.m. ET, the fourth season debut of "Parks and Recreation" (2.1/6 in 18-49, 4.1 million viewers overall) scored NBC's top non-sports results in this time period in both adults 18-49 and total viewers since January 20, despite slot competition that included the Thursday premiere of Fox's "X Factor," a special second half-hour of CBS's "Big Bang Theory" season premiere and the season debut of ABC's "Charlie's Angels."

"Parks and Recreation" built on its lead-in by 24 percent in 18-49 rating in a time period where NBC was on average flat last season versus original lead-ins from "Community."

Thursday from 9-9:31 p.m. ET, the eighth season premiere of "The Office" (3.9/10 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall) finished within 0.3 of a rating point of the time-period lead in adults 18-49 and finished #1, topping Fox's Thursday premiere of "X Factor," ABC's season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" and CBS's series premiere of "Person of Interest" in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49.

In the 9-9:30 p.m. ET half-hour, "The Office" was tied with the season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" in 18-49 rating, with both show's scoring a 4.0 rating, 0.3 of a rating point behind Fox's Thursday premiere of "The X Factor" in that half-hour.

Thursday from 9:31-10 p.m. ET, the series debut of "Whitney" (3.3/8 in adults 18-49, 6.8 million viewers overall) retained 85 percent of its 18-49 lead-in from "The Office" and 90 percent of its total-viewer lead-in. "Whitney" delivered NBC's highest non-sports 18-49 and total-viewer results in this time period, excluding hour-long episodes of "The Office," in a year (since September 23, 2010). In the time period, "Whitney" ranked #2 among ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW in adults 18-34 and men 18-49 and was #1 in men 18-34, ahead of Fox's "X Factor," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and CBS's "Person of Interest."

Thursday at 10 p.m. ET, the premiere of "Prime Suspect" (1.8/5 in 18-49, 6.1 million viewers overall) was up 20 percent in 18-49 rating versus NBC's average in this time period last season (1.8 vs. 1.5, "live plus same day," non-sports). In the time period, "Prime Suspect" tied for #2 among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-34 and was #2 outright in men 18-34.

On Friday, September 23 at 8 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of "Up All Night" (0.8/3 in 18-49, 3.1 million viewers overall) matched NBC's highest 18-49 rating in the time period in 10 weeks (since July 15) and generated the network's biggest overall audience in the slot in nine weeks (since July 22), despite the increased premiere-week competition.

At 8:30 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Whitney" (0.9/3, 3.1 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in by 13 percent to earn NBC's highest 18-49 rating in this slot in 14 weeks (since June 17) and biggest overall viewership in the half-hour in nine weeks (since July 22).

Friday from 9-11 p.m. ET, "Dateline NBC" (2.0/6 in 18-49, 7.2 million viewers overall) ranked #1 in the time period among ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW in adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and other key measures. This marks the 12th week in a row, and 15th time in the last 16 telecasts, that "Dateline" has ranked #1 or tied for #1 among non-sports programs on those networks in adults 18-49.

Versus its year-ago Friday season premiere, "Dateline" was up 25 percent in 18-49 rating (2.0 vs. 1.6). This marks the highest 18-49 rating for a Friday "Dateline" since December 11, 2009 and the biggest overall viewership for a Friday "Dateline" since March 25, 2011.

"Dateline" tied for the #1 rating of the night in adults 18-49, tied with CBS's "Blue Bloods," which "Dateline" outscored head to head in the 10 p.m. hour. This marks the 14th time in 17 weeks that "Dateline NBC" has ranked #1 or tied for #1 in adults 18-49 among all non-sports Friday telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW.

From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Dateline" reported growth of 50 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 2.4 from a 1.6) and 39 percent or 2.4 million persons in total viewers (8.4 million vs. 6.0 million). For its second hour from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Dateline" ranked #1 among ABC, CBS and NBC in virtually all key demographics, including adults, men and women 18-49, adults 18-324 and adults 25-54.

NBC tied for #2 for the night among ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW in adults 18-49, finishing only a 0.2 of a rating point out of first place, and also tied for #1 in adults 18-34.

On Saturday, September 24 from 8-9 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of Wednesday's "Harry's Law" season premiere (0.6/2 in 18-49, 4.0 million) attracted NBC's biggest overall audience in the time period since March 26.

Saturday at 9 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of Thursday's "Prime Suspect" debut (0.7/2 in 18-49, 4.8 million viewers overall) locked up NBC's top non-sports 18-49 rating in the hour since July 30 and biggest overall audience in the slot since March 5. "Prime Suspect" built on its lead-in by 17 percent in 18-49 rating and 20 percent in total viewers.

At 10 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of Wednesday's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" season premiere averaged a 0.8/3 in 18-49 and 4.7 million viewers overall, capturing the show's biggest overall viewership for a Saturday rebroadcast since May 21.

On Sunday, September 25 the "NBC Sunday Night Football" telecast of the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Indianapolis Colts propelled NBC to a Sunday primetime win in adults 18-49, total viewers and virtually all other key measures. For its full duration, the Steelers-Colts game averaged an 8.3/21 in adults 18-49, 20.4 million viewers overall and a 12.2/19 household rating/share from 8:31-11:35 p.m. ET.

Sunday's Steelers-Colts game was the top-scoring premiere-week "NBC Sunday Night Football" telecast ever in adults 18-49, total viewers and household rating and, in total viewers, the most-watched primetime NFL game to compete head-to-head with premiere-week programming in 12 years (since ABC's "Monday Night Football," September 20, 1999). The telecast was up 14 percent in 18-49 rating and 12 percent in total viewers versus the "Sunday Night Football" game that aired during premiere week last year (a 7.3/19 in 18-49 and 18.1 million viewers overall for the Jets-Dolphins match-up on September 26, 2010).

NBC won Sunday night in virtually all key ratings measures - adults 18-49, adults 18-34, adults 25-54, all key adult-male demographics, women 18-49 and 25-54 and total viewers. NBC's margin of victory over the #2 network was 36 percent in 18-49 rating (6.8 vs. a 5.0 for Fox, which was boosted by an NFL overrun) and 52 percent, or 5.8 million persons in total viewers (17.0 million vs. 11.2 million for Fox).

Also on Sunday, "Football Night in America 2" from 7:30-7:58 p.m. ET averaged a 2.3/7 in 18-49, 5.8 million viewers overall and a 3.4/6 household rating/share. "Football Night in America 3" from 7:58-8:22 p.m. delivered a 4.6/12 in 18-49, 12.0 million viewers overall and a 7.0/11 in households. From 8:22-8:31 p.m., "NBC Sunday Night Football Pre Kickoff" averaged a 6.2/16 in 18-49, 16.0 million viewers overall and a 9.3/15 in households. Note: "Football Night in America" from 7-7:30 p.m. ET was sustaining programming and does not figure in the nightly or weekly primetime averages.